The Online Safety Commission is dealing with a rising number of defamation cases from social media platforms, presenting a significant challenge in addressing these issues.

Since 2019, the Commission has received 4,900 reports of defamation on platforms such as Facebook, TikTok and other social media platforms.

Online Commissioner Tajeshwari Devi says that much of the defamatory content is posted in iTaukei and Hindi, languages that are not recognized by the content moderation systems of major social media platforms.

This, she says further complicates efforts to tackle the problem.

She adds efforts are underway to manage content in local languages better and ensure it complies with Fijian laws on defamation and online safety.

“We do a translated version of those to indicate that it breaches specific community guidelines of the platform. We send it across, and in most cases, about 90% of the reports are removed.”

Devi states that the Online Safety Commission is actively working to improve the situation by enhancing collaboration with major social media platforms.

“However, with Facebook, the difference is that most reports are related to defamation of character, whereas their focus is primarily on cyberbullying and image-based abuse, particularly concerning children and women.”

The Online Safety Commission has stressed the importance of civility and respect in online and protecting Fijians from online abuse and defamation.